Over time, a prolonged exposure to high blood sugar can damage the nerves throughout the body — a condition called diabetic neuropathy. Some people may not have any symptoms of the damage, while others may notice numbness, tingling, or pain in the extremities. “At the beginning, [diabetic neuropathy] usually starts in the feet and then it progresses upward,” says Dr. Ovalle. Although most common in people who have had type 2 diabetes for 25 years or more, it can occur in people who have prediabetes as well. In some studies, almost 50 percent of unexplained peripheral neuropathy [in the extremities], whether painful or otherwise, turns out to be caused by prediabetes or diabetes, says Dr. Einhorn.
The amount of glucose in the bloodstream is tightly regulated by insulin and other hormones. Insulin is always being released in small amounts by the pancreas. When the amount of glucose in the blood rises to a certain level, the pancreas will release more insulin to push more glucose into the cells. This causes the glucose levels in the blood (blood glucose levels) to drop.
Screening for undiagnosed T2DM is recommended at the first prenatal visit in women with above risk factors, using standard diagnostic method criteria. Screening for gestational diabetes (GDM) at 24-28 wk of gestation is recommended in women who do not have previous history of diabetes, as GDM remains asymptomatic11. A history of GDM carries a high risk for developing diabetes.
Management of type 2 diabetes focuses on lifestyle interventions, lowering other cardiovascular risk factors, and maintaining blood glucose levels in the normal range.[24] Self-monitoring of blood glucose for people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes may be used in combination with education,[70] however the benefit of self monitoring in those not using multi-dose insulin is questionable.[24][71] In those who do not want to measure blood levels, measuring urine levels may be done.[70] Managing other cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, high cholesterol, and microalbuminuria, improves a person's life expectancy.[24] Decreasing the systolic blood pressure to less than 140 mmHg is associated with a lower risk of death and better outcomes.[72] Intensive blood pressure management (less than 130/80 mmHg) as opposed to standard blood pressure management (less than 140-160 mmHg systolic to 85–100 mmHg diastolic) results in a slight decrease in stroke risk but no effect on overall risk of death.[73]
Insulin works like a key that opens the doors to cells and lets the glucose in. Without insulin, glucose can't get into the cells (the doors are "locked" and there is no key) and so it stays in the bloodstream. As a result, the level of sugar in the blood remains higher than normal. High blood sugar levels are a problem because they can cause a number of health problems.

Considering that being overweight is a risk factor for diabetes, it sounds counterintuitive that shedding pounds could be one of the silent symptoms of diabetes. “Weight loss comes from two things,” says Dr. Cypess. “One, from the water that you lose [from urinating]. Two, you lose some calories in the urine and you don’t absorb all the calories from the sugar in your blood.” Once people learn they have diabetes and start controlling their blood sugar, they may even experience some weight gain—but “that’s a good thing,” says Dr. Cypess, because it means your blood sugar levels are more balanced.

Diabetes mellitus is a diagnostic term for a group of disorders characterized by abnormal glucose homeostasis resulting in elevated blood sugar. There is variability in its manifestations, wherein some individuals have only asymptomatic glucose intolerance, while others present acutely with diabetic ketoacidosis, and still others develop chronic complications such as nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy, or accelerated atherosclerosis. It is among the most common of chronic disorders, affecting up to 5–10% of the adult population of the Western world. Its prevalence varies over the globe, with certain populations, including some American Indian tribes and the inhabitants of Micronesia and Polynesia, having extremely high rates of diabetes (1,2). The prevalence of diabetes is increasing dramatically and it has been estimated that the worldwide prevalence will increase by more than 50% between the years 2000 and 2030 (3).
Periodontal Disease. Periodontal disease is a commonly observed dental problem for patients with diabetes. It is similar to the periodontal disease encountered among nondiabetic patients. However, as a consequence of the impaired immunity and healing associated with diabetes, it may be more severe and progress more rapidly (see Right). The potential for these changes points to the need for periodic professional evaluation and treatment.
Prediabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but a person does not yet have diabetes. Prediabetes and high blood glucose levels are a risk factor for developing diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems. Other warning signs prediabetes may include increased urination, feeling you need to urinate more often, and/or increased thirst.

a complex disorder of carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism that is primarily a result of a deficiency or complete lack of insulin secretion by the beta cells of the pancreas or resistance to insulin. The disease is often familial but may be acquired, as in Cushing's syndrome, as a result of the administration of excessive glucocorticoid. The various forms of diabetes have been organized into categories developed by the Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus of the American Diabetes Association. Type 1 diabetes mellitus in this classification scheme includes patients with diabetes caused by an autoimmune process, dependent on insulin to prevent ketosis. This group was previously called type I, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, juvenile-onset diabetes, brittle diabetes, or ketosis-prone diabetes. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus are those previously designated as having type II, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, maturity-onset diabetes, adult-onset diabetes, ketosis-resistant diabetes, or stable diabetes. Those with gestational diabetes mellitus are women in whom glucose intolerance develops during pregnancy. Other types of diabetes are associated with a pancreatic disease, hormonal changes, adverse effects of drugs, or genetic or other anomalies. A fourth subclass, the impaired glucose tolerance group, also called prediabetes, includes persons whose blood glucose levels are abnormal although not sufficiently above the normal range to be diagnosed as having diabetes. Approximately 95% of the 18 million diabetes patients in the United States are classified as type 2, and more than 70% of those patients are obese. About 1.3 million new cases of diabetes mellitus are diagnosed in the United States each year. Contributing factors to the development of diabetes are heredity; obesity; sedentary life-style; high-fat, low-fiber diets; hypertension; and aging. See also impaired glucose tolerance, potential abnormality of glucose tolerance, previous abnormality of glucose tolerance.

Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT): With this test you will be required to fast for at least 8 hours and then are given a drink with 75 g of carbohydrate. Your blood glucose is checked at fasting and then 2 hours after drinking the solution. If your blood glucose is 11.1 mmol/L or higher, your doctor may diagnose diabetes. If your blood glucose 2 hours after drinking the solution is between 7.8 to 11.1 mmol/L, your doctor may diagnose prediabetes. This is the preferred method to test for gestational diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes, which is often diagnosed when a person has an A1C of at least 7 on two separate occasions, can lead to potentially serious issues, like neuropathy, or nerve damage; vision problems; an increased risk of heart disease; and other diabetes complications. A person’s A1C is the two- to three-month average of his or her blood sugar levels.